Winning a championship isn't easy. It is a road full of long hard games, endless battles and mountains of ice bags. Why do teams to it? Because it is so worth it! All the sacrifices, hard practices, workouts and lost teeth are forgotten the second you hoist up a championship trophy.

I was lucky enough to get that feeling the first year I played major junior hockey in Kamloops with the Blazers. It was awesome! We won the Memorial Cup in Laval, Quebec. I still can't hear Tina Turner's song 'simply the best' without getting all fired up! It is a memory I will never forget.

That doesn't count players that were already drafted in years prior and afterwards. It was more than 33% percent of the team getting picked in that one draft. Everyone wants winners; it is the beautiful byproduct of team success.

The same can be said for the Oil Kings. Look at how many guys were picked earlier than expected. Griffin Reinhart, 4th overall, Henrik Samuelsson 27th overall and Mitch Moroz at 32. Would they have gone so high without the long run in the playoffs? My gut says ‘No.’

Defending a title is harder than winning it the first time. Not only is it impossible to sneak up on teams but individuals on the team can lose their edge because of the personal success achieved. The individuals on the chasing teams do not lose their edge.

Think of a boxing Heavy Weight champion of the world. It is so hard to keep that title. The champ becomes a little complacent and their edge is gone. The next guys in line are still starving, they want that title.

How does a team keep the hunger and fire burning to defend a title?

After winning the Memorial cup in 1994, we were guaranteed a spot in the 1995 Memorial Cup because we were hosting it. Our coaching staff asked us if we would rather back into the tourney because we were the hosts or kick the door down and go in as WHL champs. Did we want to get into the tourney as the team to beat or be considered a team that was lucky to be in it?

I vividly remember that challenge. It filled us all up with fire for the whole year. That challenge appealed to our pride. We wanted to walk tall in our own town, Kamloops.

It also helped that we had two guys that were draft eligible for the 1995 draft and highly ranked. They both wanted to have the personal success we all had the year before. Both Jarome Iginla and Shane Doan fed the fire.

If I were the coach of the Oil Kings I would appeal to their pride. Yes, they had a successful season last year by getting to the Memorial Cup but there is unfinished business. They need to win the Memorial Cup. That is how they can get the players engines revving!

There is also Curtis Lazar. This young guy is a player and I am sure he will be bringing it every night. The Oil Kings will get some big nights from him. He will want to solidify his draft stock. His energy should be contagious inside the locker room.

Bottom Line...

Repeating as WHL champs hasn't happened in nearly twenty years. I think the Oil Kings still have a lot to accomplish as a team. Will they still drop it into that extra gear when trying to defeat a very hungry opponent? Are they satisfied with their junior careers and now looking past this year? How much pride is in that locker room?

We will know these answers next May but I think they have what it takes.

RECENTLY BY JASON STRUDWICK

Jason hosts the Jason Strudwick show from 9pm to 12am, weeknights on the team 1260. He is an instructor at Mount Carmel Hockey Academy and loves working with the kids. Having played over 650 games in the NHL, Jason has some great stories and unique takes on life in the NHL. He loves Slurpees and Blizzards. Dislikes baggy clothes and close talkers.

No Eberle,Hall,Hopkins or J.Schultz = no interest. Oilers are the only game in town, everything else is fodder.

As per Gregor, 92% or more of WHL kids will never play an NHL game. Didn't they just get steamrolled in the Memorial Cup when they went up against better teams?

I have met some pretty negative people in my day but congrats you are the champion of them all! I read all the comments on most of the articles on here and you are not wearing the rose colored glasses that is for sure.

I don't really find any enjoyment in watching soccer. I can't stand the diving. It drives me crazy. So instead of getting irritated by watching it I choose to watch something else.

Maybe you should do the same with hockey and the Oilers. You clearly find no joy in either one.

I have met some pretty negative people in my day but congrats you are the champion of them all! I read all the comments on most of the articles on here and you are not wearing the rose colored glasses that is for sure.

I don't really find any enjoyment in watching soccer. I can't stand the diving. It drives me crazy. So instead of getting irritated by watching it I choose to watch something else.

Maybe you should do the same with hockey and the Oilers. You clearly find no joy in either one.

I hope tomorrow is a better day for you

Strud

It's just sport Jason, house money, a form of entertainment to the masses, not at all important in 99.9% of peoples lives. I know it's very different from someone like yourself who lived it. I'm sure you have pet peeves that you like to vent on every once in a while as well. A soiled diaper left unnattended for more than a few minutes, your better half leaving the cap off the toothpaste perhaps?

For most of us Jason Pro sports is much like a butthole, everyone has one (an opinion). Thank you for your concern and response in this regard. I'm really not such a bad guy when it doesn't involve our last place Oilers 3 yrs running. I never biotched and bellyached the first 25 yrs of their existence. Appologies if you feel they're above criticism. Can you really blame the persistant desire that exists to right the ship? If you took off 1 or 2 of the 3 pairs of rose colored glasses you're wearing you may be able to see we're the laughing stock of the league.